Khan targets BMW defence

The BMW PGA Championship is packed with Major Champions and the world’s top ranked players but defending champion Simon Khan is the only player who can claim to have hit the perfect clay pigeon shot!

Khan fulfilled his lifetime ambition to win the Tour’s flagship event 12 months ago with his one stroke victory over Luke Donald. It was a fairytale victory from a player who was fortunate to just be playing in the event let alone win the thing but win he did and his life was transformed.

But, through the power of the internet and the Tour’s Every Shot Imaginable campaign, highlighting the brilliant, imaginative shot-making of its players, he is more often congratulated on the street for smashing a clay to pieces in the Clay Pigeon Golf Shot in Dubai than for winning an event now being rated by players as the ‘Fifth Major’.

“More people come up to me and say well done for hitting that play pigeon,” joked Khan on the eve of his defence. “I did win the PGA, as well!

"That was good fun. It's all good for the Tour."

Lookign at the strength of the field this year, he said: "We should be shouting it from the rooftops with Lee and Luke, top two; the amount of players in the top ten, four Major winners. The list goes on, doesn't it. It's just unbelievable. If there’s a time to showcase the Tour it is now.”

Khan was in relaxed mood ahead as he looked back on his victory and what has happened over the past 12 months.

“Seeing what happened after my win last year and what everyone achieved, starting with Graeme at the US Open, unbelievable. And I played with Graeme here the final round, and he won a couple of weeks later, in Wales, as well. He started it all off, and you know, they all continued. So I think I put it down to me really,” he quipped.

Khan will again be playing with McDowell over the first two days along with the man he beat by a shot, Donald, in one of the feature groups.

“One of the reasons I enjoy this week is the setup here,” he said. “We have great crowds, and the atmosphere around the first tee is something else. I’m looking forward to it and playing with Luke and Graeme as I’ve played with them a few times before. I just enjoy playing the course. Hopefully I can go out and play like I did last year.”

If you haven't seen the Clay Pigeon Golf Shot - visit the Every Shot Imaginable tab in our video section